The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 17, 2024

Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi

Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi

c. 1875
(French, 1834–1917)
France, 19th century
oil on fabric
Framed: 67.6 x 58.4 x 6 cm (26 5/8 x 23 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 49 x 39.4 cm (19 5/16 x 15 1/2 in.)
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.28
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Degas was a Parisian by birth, but had family connections around the world, including New Orleans and Italy. In this portrait Degas's aunt, who was a titled member of the aristocracy in southwestern Italy, is captured in loose, flowing strokes with her mourning dress and watery-eyed gaze.

Description

Although best remembered for his depictions of ballet dancers and race horses, Degas painted many likenesses of his family members. He probably painted this portrait of his aunt, Stefania Carafa (1819–1901), during an extended visit to Naples, where many of his relatives lived. Described in family papers as a highly indulged, fun-loving child, the duchess grew into the stoic, world-weary woman depicted here. No expensive finery reveals her high social rank; indeed she wears a mourning dress, possibly to observe the recent death of her brother Achille.
  • Carafa Family, Naples, Italy
    Mrs. Millicent A. Rogers [1902-1953], New York, NY
    1942-1951
    (Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY, June 25, 1951, sold to Leonard C. Hanna Jr.)
    1951-1958
    Leonard C. Hanna Jr., [1889-1957], Cleveland, OH, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1958-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Collectors and Million-Dollar Taste." ARTnews 52 (March 1953): 24-25. Reproduced: p. 25
    Coe, Nancy. The History of the Collecting of European Paintings and Drawings in the City of Cleveland. Thesis M.A. Oberlin College, 1955. Reproduced: v. 2, p. 72
    Cleveland Museum of Art. In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Reproduced: no. 9
    "Great Show of French Masters." Life 45, no. 8 (August 25, 1958): 41-48. Reproduced: p. 43
    "Annual Report." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art XLVI, no. 6 (June 1959): 109-158. Mentioned: p. 122
    Boggs, Jean Sutherland. Portraits by Degas. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1962. Mentioned: p. 124
    Saisselin, Rémy G. Style, Truth, and the Portrait. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1963. Reproduced: cat. no. 90
    Boggs, Jean Sutherland. "Edgar Degas and Naples." The Burlington Magazine 105 (June 1963): 273-276. Reproduced: p. 275, fig. 36
    Mastai, M. L. D. “Portraiture from Titian to Degas at the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Connoisseur 154 (October 1963): 133–34. Reproduced: p. 134
    Lee, Sherman. "Style, Truth, and the Portrait." Art in America 51, no. 5 (October 1963): 28-29. Reproduced: p. 28
    "The Artist's View of Man: Portraiture Through Four Centuries." Illustrated London News 243 (October 5, 1963): 521. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 521
    Conlan, Barnett D. "Report From Paris." Pictures on Exhibit 27, no. 2 (November 1963): 34-45. Reproduced: p. 40
    "Berichte." Pantheon 22 (1964): 55-57. Reproduced: p. 56
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 172 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 172 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 213 archive.org
    Taft Museum. Small Paintings from Famous Collections, [Exhibition], The Taft Museum, April 4 - June 7, 1981. [Cincinnati, Ohio]: [The Museum], 1981. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 13
    Hanson, Anne Coffin. "Edward Hopper, American Meaning and French Craft." Art Journal 41, no. 2 (1981): 142-49. Mentioned: p. 149, no. 20
    Brame, Philippe, Theodore Reff, and Paul-André Lemoisne. Degas Et Son Oeuvre A Supplement. New York: Garland, 1984. Mentioned and reproduced: no. 53
    Boggs, Jean Sutherland. Degas: [an Exhibition Held at the] Galeries Nationales Du Grand Palais, Paris, 9 February-16 May 1988, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 16 June-28 August 1988, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 27 September 1988-8 January 1989. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988. Reproduced: p. 253, fig. 125
    Degas, Edgar, Felix Andreas Baumann, Marianne Karabelnik, and Jean Sutherland Boggs. Degas: Portraits. London: Merrell Holberton, 1994. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 98, p. 44-45, 196, 340
    D' Argencourt, Louise, and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 212-215
    Dwyer Modestini, Dianne, and Mario Modestini. Masterpieces: Based on a Manuscript by Mario Modestini. Fiesole (Firenze) : Cadmo, 2018. Reproduced: p. 93; Mentioned: p. 94, p. 473
    Degas, Edgar, Adriano Pedrosa, Fernando Oliva, and Sofia Borges. Degas: Dance, Politics and Society. 2021, 322. Reproduced: p. 322, fig. 282.
  • Napoli Ottocento. Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, Italy (organizer) (March 26-June 16, 2024).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).
    Degas: The Portraits. Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland (organizer) (December 2, 1994-March 3, 1995); Künsthalle Tubingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany (March 18-June 18, 1995).
    Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).
    Small Paintings from Famous Collections. Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH (organizer) (April 4-June 7, 1981).
    Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963).
    A Loan Exhibition of 19th and 20th Century French Paintings-Masterpieces Recalled. Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY (1957).
    Pictures Collected by Yale Alumni. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT (1956).
    Collectors' Choice; Masterpieces of French Art from New York Private Collections. Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY (1953).
    French Art of the Nineteenth Century, Paintings, Prints, Drawings. Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA (1942).
  • {{cite web|title=Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi|url=false|author=Edgar Degas|year=c. 1875|access-date=17 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.28